Fusion Fall Drabbles
by magdelapetrem
Summary: Dexter, boy genius, is followed through various points of the war, from dealing with his "stoopid" sister to dealing with the stress of being Earth's only hope.
1. The First of Many

Fusion Fall Drabbles

Magdela Petrem

Disclaimer: Since I'm gonna make this count for all the chapters, I gonna say this right now: I don't own anything. ...Sadly.

The first takes place in Lightning Bird's Universe, and has hints of Dexter/Buttercup in it. Check out Lightning Bird's story on , "Invisible Sun". It's awesome!

* * *

The doorbell echoed off the walls, and Bubbles rushed to answer it. She yanked open the door and almost screamed, "Hi, Dexter!"

But she was shocked to see that the person standing shocked at the door wasn't Dexter, but a radiant young girl. She was wearing a short pink skirt and a pink blouse, and her blonde hair was tied in long pig-tails above her bright blue eyes. Her long, gangly limbs were holding a baby carrier and her knees were shaking. She was staring at the flying girl in awe.

Bubbles gasped and floated slowly to the ground. The girl was taller than she was. The girl set the carrier down and smiled, getting over the initial shock of a flying little girl quickly. "Hello! I'm Dee Dee, Dexter's sister!" she cried in greeting.

"Hi! I'm Bubbles," Bubbles replied. Dee Dee grinned broadly.

"Nice to meet you! But I was wondering if I could see your dad." Dee Dee paused, thinking over her words carefully. "Dexter wanted me to talk to him."

"Oh, alright." Bubbles turned to shout, but the professor was already there. He was gazing at Dee Dee.

"Hello, Ms. Dee Dee," he said simply. He put out his hand for Dee Dee to shake, but she stared at it, confused. He took it back awkwardly. "You said Dexter sent you?"

"Yes. He said spe-ci-fi-cal-ly," she hesitated, as if not sure of her words, but continued, "to speak to you in public. Or was it private?" She scratched the side of her head with one finger.

"Let's say private," Utonium assumed. "Come, follow me. Girls, no eavesdropping."

A few small giggles erupted from the hallway, and streaks of pink, green, and blue lingered in the air before disappearing completely. Dee Dee smiled and let the professor lead her to his lab. She carried the baby carrier with her in both arms. The professor locked the door behind them before offering a seat to Dee Dee, which she took, and sat down himself.

"Now, may I ask why Dexter is not here himself?" the professor inquired.

"Sir, Dexter IS here."

Utonium tilted his head towards her.

"Miss-?"

"He's here, alright. Or, maybe not. I'm not sure. You tell me." She shrugged and plopped the baby carrier on the table. She pulled the flap away from the plastic and revealed a frail-looking baby with flaming red hair and a blue blanket wrapped around its tiny body. Its skin was extremely pale, and a splash of freckles was on its pudgy cheeks. Its eyes were closed, but the light from the lab had caused it to stir and flick its eyes open. They were strikingly blue, even bluer than Dee Dee's.

"Who is this?" Utonium touched the baby's cheek, his heart strings pulling at the adorable face.

"This is Dexter," Dee Dee answered. She giggled as Utonium gasped. He recoiled from the baby, causing it to twitch, and gaped at it. "Cute, isn't he?"

"What HAPPENED?" he cried softly, trying to avoid upsetting the baby.

"He was experimenting with age or something with a plant, and I accidentally moved the laser-thingy and it hit him, and he was made younger." She said this so easily, the professor had to think that she had done things like this before. He found himself wondering how Dexter was still alive. "I thought you might be able to help."

"Right." The professor unstrapped the baby from the cradle and picked him up in his arms. The baby responded by reaching up with a small hand and touching the professor's cheek with a trembling finger. Dexter, with an intelligent look behind his gaze, took his hand back and slowly fell victim to the rocking motion the professor was doing, and he drifted off to sleep.

"I don't know what I can do, but I'll see," the professor promised. Dee Dee bowed her head, trying not to laugh.

"It's so funny," she admitted, "to see him like this again. So sweet, you know." She giggled out loud now.

The professor shifted Dexter so he was slumbering against his shoulder, and he smiled at Dee Dee.

"Ms. Dee Dee, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave." He stuck out his hand again, forgetting Dee Dee didn't understand, and Dee Dee did the same as she did before. The professor returned it to Dexter's back and followed her up the stairs to the door of the lab. "Girls, show Ms. Dee Dee to the door," he called. Blossom and Bubbles were immediately at her side, but Buttercup was a tad slower in coming and the last to say goodbye. Blossom closed the door and turned to the professor.

They all stopped dead when they saw the baby in his arms. The baby was turning slightly, waking up to the sight of the young girls.

"Professor?" Blossom floated closer.

"Girls, we have a slight problem. This..." He held the baby out. "Is Dexter."

The girls gasped.

"He had an experiment-gone-wrong, and now he's, I'd estimate, one year old." The professor was examining Dexter's face.

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, shocked, came forward. Blossom scooped Dexter out of Utonium's arms and held him carefully. Dexter looked up at her with wide blue eyes and touched her cheek, grasping the collar of her shirt and playing with the cloth nimbly.

"This is Dexter?" she choked. She handed him off to Buttercup, who held him tenderly. It was the softest expression anyone had seen on her face as she brushed a tendril of red hair out of his eyes and looked to the professor for assurance that this was, indeed, Dexter.

The professor nodded weakly.

The doorbell sounded again, and Bubbles flew to get it. Dexter watched her fly and smiled little dimples in his cheeks. Bubbles pulled the door open and Dee Dee was standing there again. Bubbles ushered her in and closed the door, careful not to slam it.

"Hello, again!" she smiled. "I thought I'd warn you about some stuff about Dexter that I learned from when he was a baby. He didn't like thunder, or carrots, or rattles, or trumpets, or rap music -trust me-, or stuffed rabbits, or dogs barking, or kissy-faces, or horses, any large animal really, or getting dirty, or mud, or paint." She took a deep breath before rambling on. "He likes classical music, peas -real, not smashed-, stories, drawing, blankets, secure places, the sound of rain falling, the piano, green things, fish in fish tanks, and plants.

"He doesn't like it when people do the hoppy thing-" she paused when the girls and the professor gave her a weird look. She took Dexter and rocked up and down on her heels, "hopping" up and down. Dexter mumbled and struggled against it. "-and he's hard to hold onto. And he has a really hard kick when he's cranky. By the way, he's always been a good sleeper, and he'll cry whenever his diaper's full, or he's angry, or hungry, or something, or whatever." She shrugged and put Dexter back in Buttercup's arms. She smoothed his ruffled hair and stroked his forehead with her hand repeatedly. Dee Dee nodded. "He likes that, too. How'd you know?"

"I..." she mumbled, "don't know. It just CAME to me."

"Great! That means he's telling you stuff!" she squealed.

She got more weird looks.

"Dexter was always special, and he had, like, te-le-ki-ne-sis stuff, and he could kind of in-flu-en-ce people. He was ALWAYS weird." Dee Dee scoffed. "Weird little kid, aren't you?" She poked his face, and he flinched away from it. He even seemed to sniff a bit.

"I don't think he likes that," Buttercup observed, stroking his forehead again. He closed his eyes and leaned into her chest, sneaking into another nap.

"Nope." Dee Dee shrugged and laughed. "Ah, memories."

She was lost in thoughts as Buttercup flew up a tad higher and started to rock back and forth. Dee Dee seemed to disappear as soon as she came, and the next thing the girls and the professor knew, she was gone out the front door. The professor shot the door a wary look before motioning Buttercup down. She drifted down like a falling curtain and handed the man the baby-fied Dexter. Dexter was still sleeping when the man took him and sat down on the couch.

He's so innocent, so pure, he thought sweetly. He brushed a stray lock of curling red hair out of his eyes and behind his ear. Dexter stirred and snuggled down into the blanket. He looked like he was in a cocoon, an emerging butterfly. Only his red hair was peeking out.

"He's so adorable!" Bubbles shrieked.

"He is," Blossom agreed, kneeling down next to him to look at his face.

Buttercup was silent. She instead knelt down next to Blossom and leaned close to Dexter's face. His eyes opened. His head turned. He blinked.

And then he took his hands out of the blanket and wrapped them around her neck, pulling her close as he could for a hug. When the girls giggled and screamed in delight, Utonium smiled warmly at the scene and tried to pry Dexter off Buttercup's neck. He wouldn't budge. Utonium tried harder, but he still wouldn't move. He finally gave up when Dexter started to whine a bit and handed him off back to Buttercup. Dexter giggled in victory and started playing with Buttercup's black hair. He touched it to his own head and held up the two colors: orange and black. He glared at them, trying to understand.

"Black," Buttercup told him, pointing to her hair. "Orange," she said next, pointing to his hair. He smiled and nodded.

"Bwack," he mumbled, still smiling. "Owange." He pointed to each color correctly. "Bwack, owange."

His heavy Russian accent still smoothed over his words as he said his first words for the second time, and the girls found themselves in awe at the adorable little boy in Buttercup's arms. He beamed at them proudly as they cooed praise.

"Bwack! Owange!" he repeated, more confidently. "Bwack, owange!"

The girls laughed and Buttercup, tough as she was, couldn't resist squealing and hugging him a little tighter. The professor watched with a wise look.

"That IS cute," he admitted. Buttercup nodded.

"Coot!" Dexter echoed. He was saying "cute" in his own little language. "Coot!"

"Aww! Lemme hold him, Buttercup!" Bubbles whined.

"Bwuttercoop," he mumbled. "Bwuttercoop?"

Buttercup's eyes widened and nodded eagerly. She pointed to herself. "Buttercup."

"Bwuttercoop."

"Buttercup."

"Bwuttercoop."

"Buttercup."

"Bwuttercoop."

This Battle of the Languages lasted for another minute until Dexter finally said sternly, "BWUTTERCUP!" Buttercup giggled and nodded.

"Bwuttercup," she sighed in defeat. "I am Bwuttercup."

Her family smiled with knowing looks at her. She was glowing with Dexter in her arms, and her eyes were gentle. Her smile was so serene that the professor doubted even Mojo Jojo could ruin her mood. "Bwuttercup" rocked the now exhausted Dexter back and forth in the air again, and he buried himself in his blanket before letting out a long sigh and falling into a light slumber. She huffed and sat down.

"This is going to be fun, isn't it?" she asked the professor.

"Oh, yes, with Dexter it ALWAYS is," the professor pointed out.

"Yeah." Buttercup sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Definitely."


	2. Hysterics

Dee Dee almost shrieked in hysterical delight. She covered her mouth and tried to muffle her laughter. Dexter stumbled out of the smoking chamber clumsily and flipped his hair out of his eyes. He adjusted his glasses and looked to Dee Dee.

"What?"

This set her off. She giggled out loud now, all attempts to stop failed. She pointed to him and laughed harder. It was impossible to articulate words.

"What?" Dexter repeated, impatient.

"Look-at-yourself!" Dee Dee gasped before chortling more.

Dexter glanced down briefly and shrugged. Then his icy blue eyes widened and he looked down in horror. "Holy mother of Einstein!" he shouted.

Instead of his normal attire, Dexter was wearing a shorter lab coat and a short purple skirt. His legs were curvy and his feet had loose boots slipped over them, the heels stilettos. He stared at his now bumpy chest and waist, and his waist made a smooth hour-glass-shape. He darted his hands to his hair and tugged on its long length. Its normal straight texture and short length was long and wavy, and dragged into a French braid behind him. He gasped as he took a long feminine stride forward and off the platform.

"Oh my gosh!" Dee Dee cried. "This is great!"

"No! It's not! We're in the middle of a war and I'm a GIRL!" Dexter protested.

"It's funny!" Dee Dee laughed harder.

Dexter collapsed. "Don't let Ben see me like this, PLEASE," he pleaded to no one. "It would be mortifying."

Dee Dee nodded. "It totally would be." Her giggles subsided slowly as the situation sank in.

...But that didn't stop her from taking a quick picture and hiding the camera.


	3. Think Fast

Dexter smirked. Ben was walking in. Perfect.

"Think fast, Benjamin!" he yelled over the intercom. Paintballs flew at hyper speed at Ben, whose eyes widened in confusion. The guns splattered him with different colors of paint, from red to silver and all in between. Dexter cackled to himself as he watched Ben's jacket and skin get splashed with rainbows and drip paint. The guns stopped as soon as Dexter pressed the halt button, and Ben shook his head, hair flinging globs of paint everywhere. Dexter came out of his CO* and strode to Ben. He stood a good few feet away, for Ben was surrounded by a moat of colors that would surely stain his lab coat and boots. Dexter chuckled at the damage.

"Dexter," Ben growled. Dexter smirked.

"Yes, Benjamin?" Dexter mused.

Ben wiped paint off his eyelids and lips and cracked into laughter. "Nice one!"

They laughed hysterically for a few moments before Ben stopped. "Was that all you needed me for? Target practice?"

Dexter shrugged. "Well...yes. I couldn't do it to anyone else, so I thought you'd get a kick out of it."

Ben nodded. "I did. Oh, man. I got to show Mandy." He turned and hurried out the door; Dexter had a crooked smile on his face while he went back to his study and started to work on a project.

"Ben?" Mandy began with a sigh. "Why are you covered in paint?"

Ben smiled at her goofily. "Dexter." Mandy's confused face made him laugh. "He needed a release, and it just so happened that assaulting me with paintballs was it."

"Ah."

It was at that point that Billy stumbled in, paint splattered on him, also. "Guys, guys, guess what?" he exclaimed.

"Dexter," both said in unison. Billy gasped.

"How'd you know?" he gaped.

"Because he did the same to me," Ben laughed.

"Mandy, look at thi-" a voice cried. Dee Dee dashed in with paint dripping from her dress. She was heavily coated in pink paint. Ben laughed and pointed at her.

"Dexter's crazy!" he shouted, giggling.

Dexter, in his CO, was laughing to himself. "Well, back to work," he chimed. He picked up a wrench and tightened a bolt on his latest project.

(*=Center of Operations)


	4. Hot Tub

"I have an idea, Dexter," Dee Dee started. "Why don't you install a hot tub in your lab? It'll help you relax, and it'll help your health, and-"

"Dee Dee," Dexter interrupted. "You just want one, don't you?"

Dee Dee nodded in defeat, tugging at one pigtail softly. "So could you do it?"

Dexter groaned softly but smiled. "Yes." He pulled up a new window on his computer and put a note about the hot tub on it. He closed it then and returned to his work. "It'll be done in a day, since my Dexbots are a bit busy with my newest model of rockets, and it'll be in your room."

"Yay! Thanks, Dexter!" DeeDee hugged him swiftly before bounding out of his lab.


	5. Speak Up

Dee Dee played with her iPod on Dexter's speakers. Currently, "Potential Break Up Song" was playing, and Dexter was scowling at the speakers. "Could you turn it down, PLEASE?" he shouted over the pop music blaring in his face.

"What?" Dee Dee yelled.

"Turn it down!"

"Huh?"

"Turn it DOWN!"

"HUH?"

The music stopped when Dexter finally screamed, "TURN IT DOWN!"

"Oh. Sorry. Couldn't hear you." Dee Dee shrugged, starting the music again. "You'll have to speak louder next time!"

Dexter face-palmed his forehead before sighing and going back to work, like the good little workaholic he was.


	6. Mordecai's Challenge

A sticky note sat on his desk. It read,

"Dexter,

Mordecai came over. He said it was important. Something about motorcycle racing. Are you old enough for that? And since when do you know how to drive, mister? ;)

-Dee Dee"

Dexter's blue eyes scanned it a final time before he picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Douglas, it's Dexter."

"Yes."

"Oh, the job is hard, but worth it."

"I'm up for the race."

"See you there."

He hung the phone up and grinned. With a swish of his lab coat, he was walking towards his garage, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket. His purple-latex-gloved hands pressed a button, and the garage opened, revealing an array of various means of transportation, including an escape pod, cars resembling the Bat mobile, and planes. But he was heading for a sleek black motorcycle with a "D" on the front. The liscence plate read, "SpdDmn." He gave a dangerous smile before turning it on and flinging one leg over, speeding out of the garage with an audible ZOOM.

Mordecai was going down.


	7. Spider

Mandy was dangerously close to smiling. Seeing the boy genius so flustered was unlike him, and was almost humorous. And it was all about a bug in his office.

"Mandy, I'm desperate! What if it is a bug with a disease? If I die, it would be your fault! Please! Kill it!" he begged, clinging to her desk. Mandy turned her smirking face away.

"What is it?"

"Eh?"

"What kind of bug is it?"

"Oh, a spider. But it's big!" He motioned to about a spider twice as tall as he was. Mandy had a sneaking suspicion she knew what -or rather, who- it was.

"I'll get right on that, Dexter. Now go work on some project with Hoagie or something. I'll page you when it's gone," she told him sternly.

"Thank you, Mandy!" he cried, dashing out of the room in a flash of his white lab coat. Mandy picked up her cell-phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Yes, Billy? Well, I have a spider you might want to kill."


	8. Cool It

Blossom stood in Dexter's office, looking over a stack of papers. "So, what exactly do you want me to do?" she asked again. Dexter looked up at her, face smudged with oil and goggles pulled over his eyes and glasses.

"I want you to try out this new mecha-suit I've been working on. This is the female design," he informed her, displaying the pink battle armor. "Dee Dee has already used it. She reported that it worked great as armor -I shot her several times with several weapons, and only one hit her- and is 'fashionable'." He turned back to the suit. "Though I don't know what in the world that has to do with a WAR," he added in a grumble. Blossom smiled.

"Okay, I can do that," she said happily. "Is it ready?"

"One more plate to wear the laser went through and we should be fine," he replied, welding another plate on. Seeing Blossom's alarmed look, he hastily continued, "She's fine! She's just going to be a little sore in her left side for a day or two." Blossom relaxed and looked at the papers again.

"Hey, do you mind if my sisters try this out, too? You know, so you can get more data on different fighting styles?" she suggested, pointing to a paper.

"I am lacking in that...yes, I suppose it will be fine if they try, also..." He finished welding and backed away from the suit. "Please put this on."

"Okay."

Blossom slipped the armor over her normal attire and pulled the zipper on the neck up. "I like this option. Not all girls like having their necks covered, so this will give them that freedom."

"Yes."

Blossom moved her arms, legs and waist, trying to feel any stiffness. "It's loose and comfortable, too. Easy to move in. Good fit around the body."

"Hm."

Finally, she tried using her powers. She lifted the desk with one hand, flew up a little bit, used her ice breath. Nothing was constricted, and she grinned, "It's a great suit. Good work."

But she grimaced when she realized she had frozen Dexter to where he stood when she had used her ice breath. "I'll, uh, go get a hair-dryer or something," she mumbled before flying out of the room panicking.

Buttercup and Bubbles had to laugh when they heard what Blossom had done, and that she still hadn't helped him.


	9. Vuja De

Dexter had done an experiment, and it had gone horribly wrong. The problem was that he didn't remember it. Only Samurai Jack did. So, every so often, the martial arts master came by to try and remind him of it.

It went something like this.

Dexter was working on plants and aging again, but this time he made sure Dee Dee wasn't in the lab. He fired the laser. Samurai Jack just happened to swing his sword under the beam, and the laser bounced off and hit Dexter. Samurai Jack caught him before he fell, but Dexter had changed. He was making plants older, Jack realized in horror, as a young man around the age of about twenty-one years old lay unconscious in his arms. His curly hair was straighter and fell in his eyes, his glasses were smaller on his face, and his pale skin was flawless with the exception of a scar across the bridge of his nose. His clothes had even gotten bigger with the body -how, Jack didn't know, but he didn't doubt anything about Dexter...even his clothes. The handsome young man mumbled in his sleep and sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes under his specs.

"What in the world just happened?" he asked, voice low. Even his voice had changed! Jack thought in dismay. "And why do I sound different? Samurai Jack-san?" He turned to face Jack with sparkling blue eyes.

"You got hit by the laser," Jack told him awkwardly.

Dexter's eyes widened behind the glasses. "Oh...well..." Dexter stood shakily but quickly regained his balance. His legs were long and slim, and he had a bigger build. He was inches taller than Dee Dee. Jack's eyes widened. This was the man Dexter would grow up to be. Strong, confident, calm, and good-looking. Jack smiled.

"Who would be able to fix you?"

Dexter smirked. "Just because I'm older, it doesn't mean I'm less intellectual. I can program the laser. You just have to hit the button when I'm in position."

"DEXTER! Lunch time!"

Bubbles' voice echoed off the lab walls.

"Oh dear," Dexter breathed.

"I brought you some...soup..." her voice trailed off as her eyes caught sight of him. "D-Dexter?!"

"Yes?" he squeaked nervously.

"You-You-You're...wow," she gushed, eyes hearts and drooling. He looked at her innocently. "I have to show Blossom and Buttercup!"

Dexter shivered. "I can just imagine what Buttercup will say," he shuddered. Jack smirked. Poor kid, he thought. Dexter blinked with long eyelashes and covered his eyes. "Dear Einstein, I need to change back before-"

"WHOA!" Blossom and Buttercup shouted. They hovered in front of him, jaws dropped. "Dexter, you're...!"

"You're hot!" Buttercup finished for her sister. Blossom blushed and pushed her sister playfully. "Seriously, how did the little science boy turn into...THAT!"

As the girls drooled over him and Dexter stared at him with wide, pleading eyes, as if saying "help me", Jack sighed and shook his head.

"He even has the accent!" Bubbles squealed. The girls laughed in agreement and hugged him. Dexter grimaced and stared at Jack, desperate for help.

"Girls, let go," Jack finally interrupted. "He needs to get back to normal."

"Ehh, but why?" Bubbles countered.

Dexter sighed. "I really need to change back soon," he whispered under his breath. "I can't handle girls. Armies of mutants, yes. Girls...no. Never."

Either Dexter had blocked that memory out, or his brain had lost it in the transformation process, but Dexter didn't remember a thing.

The girls did, though, and paid extra attention to him from that day forward...to which Dexter was oblivious of.


	10. Species

"What?" Dexter snapped. "What is it that you WANT? I've done everything! Food, water, bathroom! What is it that you could possibly want?"

Courage shrunk under his glare. He pointed to the ball on the floor at Dexter's feet. Dexter's mind clicked.

"Oh." Dexter picked up the ball. "Playtime." He grinned in apology and tossed the ball. He never could throw far, but Courage couldn't run far. They were a perfect match. Courage bounded back and handed Dexter the ball. He threw it again and again, but the dog never seemed to get tired of the same thing over and over. Dexter's brow furrowed and he threw the ball a bit farther. Courage eagerly hurried to retrieve it.

"Just what kind of dog ARE you...?" Dexter mumbled, patting Courage's head. "Some kind of lap dog? Sporting breed?"

Courage shook his head and tapped Dexter's chest.

"Oh. Mine."


	11. Tricked

Mac and Bloo stood outside Dexter's door nervously. Mac reached up and knocked, but both took several steps back when the door opened. Dexter stood in front of them, lab coat thrown aside. His black turtleneck and pants matched his black shoes, and his glasses were high on his nose. "Yes?" he grumbled.

"U-Uh, Mandy wants to see you," Mac stammered. Dexter scowled.

"It had better be good. I really need some sleep," he hissed. He snatched his lab coat off the doorknob and threw it over his shoulders. "Thank you for telling me."

He strode off through the halls before turning to get onto an elevator. Bloo and Mac faced each other before high-fiving.

"Yes! We didn't die when we woke up the Boy Genius!" they cheered.

Mac stopped. "Oh, but we might, when he finds out Mandy didn't need him."


	12. Ancient Reptiles

Dexter sighed. "A dinosaur."

In front of him was exactly that. Billy sat on top of it, grinning stupidly.

"Yeahyeahyeah!" He bounced up and down on top of its head and patted it. "Its name is Phillip. He's mine."

Dexter groaned. "Really?"

"Yessss-ah!" The "ah" ended in a sigh. Dexter raised his watch and pressed a button.

"Billy, get off."

Billy did so. Dexter aimed for the dinosaur and clicked his watch twice. A blue-ish beam shot out and swallowed the reptile. It was gone in a second.

"Whoooooooooa," Billy marveled. Dexter scowled.


	13. Loyal

Maybe this was a good idea at the time, Dexter muttered mentally. He tried to face-palm himself, but his hands were stuck in the goop. Ben was laughing maniacally, sliding further and further into the mess involuntarily. Dexter sighed. He brought his watch up to his mouth with some struggling and ordered, "Computress, please send a cleaning crew to Level 2. Benjamin made a mess of it."

"You helped!" Ben cried indignantly.

"You poured the compound into the third beaker when I said the second!" Dexter snapped back. Ben pouted and attempted to cross his hands, but only succeeded in folding them over one another. "And anyways, what were you doing in here?"

"You seemed lonely."

"Lonely?"

"Yes."

"That's what you care about in a war with aliens? If one of your friends is lonely?"

"Yes."

"That's stupid."

"Well, so are you!"

"What?"

"I don't know why. You're just stupid!" Ben scowled in fake indignation while Dexter's was genuine.

"I don't know why I put up with you, stooooopid boy," Dexter gurgled in the pile of goop. Ben snickered.

"Yes, yes, stooooopid Dex," he mocked, furrowing his brow and pretending to push up his glasses. Dexter tried to hide a chuckle. "You with your lab and stoooooopid accent."

"Hey, I like my completely out of place accent!" Dexter cried, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. He laughed when Ben did, and the two watched a group of cleaning bots approach them.

"Oh, Dex, what is this stuff? What'll it do to us?" Ben suddenly panicked. He flailed his hands free of the red stuff.

Dexter smirked. "Me? Nothing. I have an antidote. You...well, I'll let you figure that out."

"Wha- You won't give me the cure?!"

"No." Dexter's smirk widened. "Because I'm stoooopid, remember?"

Later that day, Gwen gave him an odd look and asked him why he smelled like chocolate covered cherries, and Ben frowned and gave her no answer but, "He is so stoooooopid."


	14. Girl Power

Mandark laughed. Dexter sat at his desk, preoccupied with a cup of coffee and book about advanced thermal physics, in "casual" clothes Dee Dee had picked out for him. These "casual" clothes consisted of a pine green sweater over a white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks with a pair of dress shoes. His hair was straightened and his glasses were a square shape, but still as concentrated for his poor vision. He tapped the pencil he was holding impatiently while Mandark started to ridicule him. "What kind of man are you, Dexter? Is it possible that I, Mandark, have a better fashion sense than you? You let your sister dress you!" He cackled again.

Dexter ignored him and corrected a phrase in the book quickly, moving onto the next paragraph.

"Maybe you aren't as strong-willed as I thought you were, seeing as how you backed down so easily to your own sister! And here, I thought you were the unmovable wall of stubborn-ness!" Mandark continued, prodding Dexter with a bony finger. Dexter rolled his eyes.

"Maaaandaaaaark!" a high-pitched voice shrieked. "Come make me a saaaaaandwich!"

"Uh-oh."

Olga burst into Dexter's office and snatched Mandark's hand -"Eek!"- And started to drag him out. When he was out of Dexter's lab and being pulled towards the cafeteria, Dexter chuckled.

"Who backs down now, Mandark?"


	15. Radiation

Mrs. Warthog looked at Mandy's inbox. It was flooded with messages. "That boy genius needs to die," she muttered under her breath before she started to sort through them, seeing which were important or not. When she came to one that said, "Mandy, Billy is ruining my lab, and I need you to restrain him while I start to work on my latest project with toxic materials. We wouldn't want another accident with the waste, now, would we? -Dexter"

She furrowed her brow and something clicked in her head. So THAT'S why Dexter, Billy, and Mandy all glowed during the black out last Tuesday!


	16. Misunderstanding

X-J9 sat outside a large oak door that seemed very out of place in Dexter's lab. She was supposed to be delivering a message; just go in, come back, real fast. It was only supposed to be a two minute thing. But here she was, sitting outside a door, listening.

Listening to the drifting sound of the piano.

Listening to the sound of a low voice singing.

Listening to the small crack in the person's voice before they continued even stronger than ever.

And listening to the distinct sound of a tear landing on the ground with a tiny and almost indistinguishable "plink", like a shard of glass falling onto hardwood.

She knocked on the door and listened to the gasp and the piano cover slam shut. Then a deep breath before the door opened and Dexter McPhearson stared up at her. His eyes showed no proof that he was just crying, but Jenny could see the small puddle of tears near the seat of the piano. She smiled at him sadly and handed him the telegram before flying out, tears threatening to fall.

The rock that was Dexter's heart could crumble sometimes, Jenny thought bitter-sweetly, but it would never show. He's strong for us.

Dexter sat still at the piano, fingers itching to move over it again. He wiped a final tear from his eye and put his glasses back on. He fingered the paper before actually reading it.

Dexter, it read.

I can hear you. Allergies again?

-Dee Dee

Dexter smiled and folded the piece of paper into a tiny square. It fell in his pocket and he put his gloves back on. "Yep. I hate allergies and air vents."


	17. Love Advice Part 1

"Dexter, you need a girlfriend."

Dexter almost dropped the wrench he was holding and gazed up at Mordecai, who was smiling smugly down at him. "Seriously. You're such a hermit."

Dexter shook his head. "I'm not good with girls." He squeezed the wrench between his hands and yanked down, trying to tighten a bolt but failing.

"No, really," Mordecai shot back sarcastically.

"Shut up."

"No. Dexter, you have absolutely NO love life. And a love life is important in a young boy's life."

"You sound like Dee Dee and Mandark." Dexter sighed and put the wrench down.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Now just Dee Dee."

"Shut it."

Dexter laughed and put a pair of protective goggles over his glasses. He gave a pair to Mordecai and he did the same.

"So, what girls do you like around here?" Mordecai leaned on Dexter's shoulders with one arm, looking into space opposite of him. Dexter shrugged him off.

"I don't really. I've never had time to consider having a girlfriend."

"You're hopeless," Mordecai chided. "But I'll help. Okay. How about one of the Powerpuff Girls? Blossom's pretty cute."

Dexter shook his head. "No."

"Why not?"

"We're just friends."

"Ugh. You don't know how many people in romantic comedies say in the beginning of the movies... How about Juniper Lee?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"She's not my type."

"What is your type?"

This puzzled Dexter. He put the laser down and looked up at the other boy. "I don't know. But not Juniper Lee," he finally decided. "I guess she has to be kind, smart, able to keep up with me, but not be clingy. I can't have some fanatic girl running around here and destroying everything, or distracting me from my work."

Mordecai thought for a second. "The only person I can really think of like that is Blossom. But you already said you're just friends."

"Exactly."

Mordecai groaned. "You're going to be alone for the rest of your life!"

Dexter smacked his leg before concentrating on the laser's path again. "I'm happy being alone."

"Yeah, try telling me that when you're a plump old man afraid of the sun that hasn't seen a movie in fifteen years and hasn't left his house for other reasons than to get the mail. All you'll do is sit behind a desk and try to reach past your pot belly and grab the latest invention, which will be something completely useless, like cotton candy flavored soup, wishing you had a wife or something."

Dexter reached into a container next to the robot he was working on and pulled out a small tin. "Already done. Dee Dee requested it. It was simple."

Mordecai hit him upside the head, making him laugh and toss the cotton candy soup in his hands. "You have NO life."

"Nope."

Mordecai, later, was debating on how to go about eating the soup, with a spoon or his hands.


	18. Insanity with Great Aim

With a lot of persuading and a month long battle of wits, Dexter finally stood on the battlefield, holding the newest prototype of a gun he had to try out. It was his first time actually out on the field, in the front line, because Mandy wouldn't let him go anywhere else but the HQ. She had claimed it was too dangerous to let the genius out of their protection, but Dexter thought otherwise. He WANTED to fight.

Ben put a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

"Always," Dexter replied, strong and sanguine. He bumped fists with Ben before Ben had to run off and give a pep talk to a few operatives who had just lost two best friends in the last battle. Dexter smiled up at the sky and looked to his right when an operative shouted to get ready. He lifted coat and pulled the gun from its holster. A few operatives scurried to get to their spots before the enemy came into view.

When it did, Dexter was ready.

"CHARGE!!!" Ben screamed. Everyone surged forward like a mighty wave of the ocean. "Squad Twelve take the right flank! Squad Two, circle around! Corral them!" He transformed into Four Arms and tossed a monster in the air, high above Dexter. With excellent aim, Dexter hit it, and it exploded. Four Arms gave him four thumbs up and followed his friends into battle. Dexter ran forward, too, shooting any monster that came his way into oblivion.

"No operatives were lost that day, thanks to the insane boy genius," the reporter said happily. "This, according to Ben 10, was his first battle, and-"

Mandy muted the TV and turned to face Dexter, who was beaming with pride. There was a cut on his left cheek and his coat was torn, but on his face was a blinding smile. Mandy shook her head. "You are never going out there again," she told him, watching him jump out of the way of a monster's attack at just the right moment for the attack to hit another. Both fell. Dexter stood and laughed before ducking -missing another attack- and high-fiving Ben, who had transformed back. "Never," Mandy repeated.

"I understand," Dexter chimed before standing. "I have some work to do, now, so please excuse me."

He practically leapt out of the room on scorched boots.


	19. Bets

Instead of cowering in fear like most would, Dexter glared right back at the Grim Reaper, who was brandishing his scythe. Dexter pulled his coat back to reveal his equally as intimidating gun, the one he had used in his first battle. Grim had challenged him to a mock duel, just to see who would win, him with his reaper powers and scythe, and Dexter with whatever inventions he could fit in his coat.

Mandy blew the whistle, and Grim darted forward, slamming his scythe into the ground. A fissure cracked through the earth and in front of Dexter's feet. Dexter smiled and shot down it, hitting the demons that were supposed to get him in the face. He jumped out of the way when a few escaped and flew at him rapidly, but he used his watch's laser to deflect their attacks. He heard Grim's wild cackling behind him, and, with amazing precision, kicked a demon out of his way and charged forward towards him.

Grim dodged and Dexter ran at him again. When Grim lifted his scythe and swung, he heard consecutive gasps, but he knew they were gasping for nothing.

Because he had just beat the Grim Reaper.

Grim looked down in horror -ironic, huh, the icon of horror looking down in horror?- at the gun sticking in his face, and the second in his chest while Dexter's arm wrapped around his own and held the scythe in place, not allowing it to go any further. He knocked it out of Grim's hands and kicked it away. Grim, defenseless, bowed his head.

"Good job, boy," he mumbled, "but I was just going easy on you. I could kill you at any time I want."

"Oh, really?" Dexter smirked, glancing down.

Grim looked down and jumped. A tube of energy swarmed around him, and Dexter released him and backed away from the tube, not wanting to be trapped. The energy bubbled and spun before settling on the reaper. Grim gaped at Dexter. "That disables any powers you have. And I have your scythe," Dexter explained.

Grim chuckled. "Good job."

Mandy smirked atop her chair. "A, what, nine year old boy just beat the Grim Reaper, albeit a genius nine year old. Billy, you owe me five bucks."

Billy pouted and handed over the money.


	20. Drowsy

Bubbles fell forward onto her knees and trembled. "PLEASE, Dexter? I'm afraid of the dark! Let me in!"

Dexter grumbled on the other side of the door and rubbed his eyes. "Hold on. I just woke up." Bubbles heard a "bleep" and then a "click" before the door slid open and Dexter, in a t-shirt and long pajama pants, held his hand out to her. She latched onto it and buried her face in his chest.

"I hate the dark!" she yelped. Dexter rubbed her back.

"It's okay. It's just a black out. Hoagie's probably just doing an experiment and used a lot of electricity. The power will be on in minutes, or half an hour at the most," he soothed. Bubbled clung to his shirt and sniffled.

"I still hate it."

Dexter thought for a moment. He pushed her by her shoulders and looked her in her brilliant blue eyes. "Stay here."

Bubbles screamed inwardly. She clutched his hand, preventing him from walking away. "Don't leave me!" Dexter's hand slipped out of hers and she scrambled to get it back. She was alone again. Blossom was on the front lines and Buttercup was resting, so there was no way she could fly off to find them. Something warm touched her hand, and she screamed before slapping it away. She heard a sickening crack. "Oh, oh my, Dexter?"

There was silence, and a tiny, "Ouch." The way he said it was almost comical. It was so nonchalant. When it touched her hand again, she held onto it. Then she realized it was his other hand.

"Did I just break your hand?" she guessed weakly.

"I think so. Oh well. Mandy won't be too pleased." She could almost imagine him shrugging as he said this, and Mandy's furious face. She giggled. "Anyway, I called Hoagie. The power should be on in about an hour. He really fried THAT circuit. Until then, use this. It doesn't need electricity."

Something flickered, and a stuffed bunny with a glowing stomach was looking at her. Dexter was holding it up almost shyly. She let go of his hand and took the rabbit. "It's so cute!" she squealed, hugging it.

"I made it for Dee Dee when I was around five." He shrugged. "She used it whenever there was a thunderstorm."

She looked at it again and peered at him through its ears. He was examining his hand and winced when he brought it back. "Shouldn't we get that checked out?" She touched one of his fingers and heard a small hiss of pain escape his lips.

"I suppose."

Bubbles took his hand again and followed him to his desk. He put his hand under a scanner, and then shook his head. "Right. No power."

Bubbles giggled and hugged the bunny tighter.

She could have told him that the bunny could have powered it, since it WAS a power source, but seeing the tired boy genius confused as to what to do over so simple a problem was too funny to miss.


	21. Love Advice Part 2

Dexter hadn't had his first kiss. Dee Dee knew this. And she was almost embarrassed at it. They had a conversation -or debate- about it once, and Dee Dee never tried again.

"I'm only nine, Dee Dee," he protested calmly.

"You're as mature as a college professor, Dexter!" she countered.

"I'm as tall as a seven year old."

"There are short girls here."

"I don't want to kiss anyone."

"Why not? It's fun! I've kissed Ben before!"

"...Really?"

"Well, yeah!"

"That somewhat perturbs me." He rubbed his temple. "But it was your choice, right?"

"Yeah."

"Was it his?"

"Shut up."

"Anyway, I should decide when I get my first kiss."

"Hmph!" She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him. "I might just put a kiss ransom on you!"

Dexter smirked. "Then I'll put a geek ransom on you. The first person to get a date with you, that's a geek, wins. I think I know exactly who'll win, too. M-A-N-D-A-R-K."

Dee Dee shuddered. "Nevermind, Dexter. You should take things at your own pace! Slow down! You're already thinking about kissing at your age? You're only nine, for Pete's sake!" She wagged a finger at him before dashing off.

Dexter smirked almost the next five minutes.


	22. Considerate

Wilt smiled. "Dexter, Madame Foster wants to see you," he informed him politely, waiting until Dexter looked at him to continue. "She says it's very important."

Dexter sighed. "Everything is," he whispered angrily. Louder, in a happier voice, he said, "What is?"

"She needs a pet. Mr. Herriman is busy lately, so she needs a pet. Preferably a puppy, she told me, if that's okay," Wilt elaborated. His lazy arm flopped at his side while his good arm motioned.

"A robotic puppy?" Dexter mused.

"Um, yes, if that's okay." Wilt put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "I'll help if you need me to."

Dexter shook his head. "No, thanks, Wilt; I'm not sure there's much you can do to help with. I suppose you could get the specifics about the dog from Madame Foster, though."

"Yes, sir!" Wilt saluted and marched out of the room theatrically. Dexter frowned.

"In the middle of a war...my most important mission at the moment...is making a...puppy?" he asked himself, blinking slowly. He groaned. "I feel SO insignificant."

Wilt didn't tell him that the puppy would also be a spy for Madame Foster to make sure that the Bloo that he had come to know and love wasn't a traitor. He didn't tell him, because he thought it might just put extra pressure on him. Because Wilt was considerate.


	23. Alpha

Dexter stared in horror at the abomination in front of him. Did he just make that? He didn't remember drawing up blue prints for it, or making it at all. He just thought about it and-

The mermaid smiled up at him with almond eyes. "Hello! I'm your imaginary friend!"

Dexter groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this." He glanced at his "friend" and looked at her closely. Every scale on her tail was a diamond. An intricate head-piece made of gold was on top of her curly blonde hair. Her swimsuit was something along the lines of a seaweed wrap. Her gills were on each side of her neck, and her neck gently sloped into shoulders under a vest of armor. She had a belt that separated her skin and tail and a sword in its sheath on her right side. She looked like a warrior.

He started to make a pro and con list in his head. He DID need a spy to go into the Fuse base underwater. But it was an imaginary friend. But weren't Eduardo and Wilt, some of his best men? He pursed his lips.

"Okay. I'll keep you as a soldier," he finally decided, running his hand through his hair. "You're name is Alpha."

Alpha giggled. "The first letter of the Greek alphabet, right? Also a term for the 'leader of the pack', in terms of wolves and animals, right?" She snapped her fingers. "Yes. That's right."

Dexter's eyes widened. Well, Alpha DID come from his brain. It wasn't just some mindless doodle. It was a person. Alpha shifted her tail behind her. "I'm a soldier, yes? So I'll be needed in the water, as an undercover operative. I shouldn't be wearing this, then." She took her gold head piece off and her curly hair fell on her shoulders. "If I need to be inconspicuous, then I shouldn't wear that." She pushed it towards him. "I take it, from the situation at hand," she continued, picking up a piece of paper and reviewing the latest battle scenario, "that I will be needed to take out a 'Fuse' base underwater with a team of other scuba divers. They'll need some 'gills' like I have if I am correct in saying that they'll be underwater for a LONG time; longer than any scuba gear could provide."

Dexter nodded. "Yes. Good observation."

"And, a heads up, silver cut wells in water. Silver swords and dark colored lasers. Dark colored lasers will hide the blast better. I'd put a silencer on it, too, so that the vibrations from the gun will be minimized."

"Of course."

"Thanks for listening. Now, what station do I go to? According to this..." Her colorless eyes scanned the page. "I'll be at Sea Station 4?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Now, I'm off. I'll be debriefed at the station about what I need to do. You've sent the mission stats?"

"I sent them last week."

"Good. Well, bye!" She grinned and waved before disappearing with a POOF.

Dexter smirked. "Oh, now she can disappear, too? Why didn't I think of imaginary friends earlier?"


	24. Pout

Dee Dee's iPod lay in his hands, and his fingers curled around it. "Why does DeeDee listen to this trash?" he grunted, tossing the iPod into the trash. "Most of those songs have the exact same melody. It's a shame what music has come to."

What he didn't see was the "D" playlist, in which classical music composed by him and many other famous artists, the one that had the most views.

And he didn't see the smooth jazz or blues.

Or Disney classics, like Once Upon a December or Reflection.

Later, Dee Dee picked her iPod out of the trash. "Dexter's so mean!" she pouted, brushing a piece of paper off the screen before opening the Jazz Playlist and popping the ear buds in her ears.


	25. Content

Computress smiled down at the young boy genius and picked up him like he was a feather and not a dead-weight. She carried him bridal-style through the lab to his room and the door scanned her eyes before letting her in. Just another one of Dexter's security mechanisms. Computress grinned in awe and pride at her creator and tucked him under the covers of the bed next to a desk scattered with notes and forms. The most current one was taped on the top of a stack and read URGENT.

Everything Dexter read was urgent.

Dexter mumbled something about swords in water and iPods before rolling under the blanket and drifting off again.

Computress patted his arm and organized a pile of papers before exiting the room and closing the door silently.

"He's nine years old. He works too hard," she beeped to herself, striding through the laboratory easily. "The last time he slept was...Monday. And it's Thursday now. If this keeps up, his immune system will start to fail and he will get a cold. Then he'll HAVE to rest. Hm..." Computress trailed off. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Dexter coughed and sniffled before slumbering again. Each cough got a bit worse, and eventually he woke up from the sheer violence of them. He cleared his throat and spoke into his watch. "Computress, get me some cold medicine and a cup of Earl Grey Tea. I think I'm coming down with a cold."

He didn't see Computress' smirk through the watch, but he could almost hear the traces of it as she replied with, "Of course, Dexter."


	26. Feminine

An explosion.

Hysterical and evil laughter.

Another explosion.

A "Ha ha, FOUR EYES!"

A phone call.

A giddy giggle from a girl on the other side of the phone.

Three streaks of light.

And urgent, "Hurry!" into the phone.

Another three streaks of light.

The first three being chased out by the other three, all the while masculine screaming and feminine squealing.

And a relieved and somewhat irritated sigh.

The Rowdyruff Boys didn't come over to Dexter's lab much more.


	27. Boom

Ben rushed into the lab and spun Dexter around in his chair. "Yes, Benjamin?" Dexter asked angrily, holding a delicate piece of machinery and the other half of it being on the table.

"We have a problem."

Dexter furrowed his eyebrows. That wasn't Ben's voice. Why was Buttercup...? "I can see that. Where is your body?"

Buttercup/Ben sighed. "Flying. He really likes flying."

There was a muffled BOOM from outside, and Buttercup/Ben added, "And blowing stuff up."

"Dude, this is awesome!" Ben/Buttercup screamed, flying into the lab. Buttercup/Ben threw a hand in his direction.

"Help us!" they (because Dexter really wasn't sure if it was a he or she at this point, what with all the confusion) demanded. "This is horrible!" When Ben/Buttercup accidentally ran into a wall, they screeched, "Hey! That's my body! Be careful!"

Dexter shook his head. "Like I need this." Then he stood and pushed Buttercup/Ben away from him. "Ben! Buttercup! Please stand right in front of me." When the two did what he said, Dexter took a few steps back and aimed his watch at them. Within five seconds, a process of flashing lights was complete. Buttercup and Ben were in their bodies and with a "thanks hug" from Ben, which greatly invaded his bubble; the two were ushered out of the lab.


	28. Muse

Dexter sat in his room, staring out the window. He had no inspiration. Nothing was coming to him to help him defeat Fuse. It had been a year or two since the war started, and neither side seemed to yield in the least. "Maybe someone else can give me a muse."

Attempt 1: Mandy

"Just get to work," she snapped, yanking Billy off her desk for the third time in the last two minutes Dexter had been in her office.

Attempt 2: Ben

"Wow! The amazing Boy Genius can't think of anything to work with?" Ben awed. Dexter wasn't quite sure if Ben was being sarcastic, genuine, or just plain stupid. So he assumed all three and nodded. "...If you can't come up with anything, I doubt I'll be able to," Ben finally concluded. Dexter's head fell and his shoulders slumped.

Attempt 3: Dee Dee

"It should be pink!"

He ended that chat in about a second.

Attempt 4: Bubbles

"It should be blue and cute!"

He ended that chat with a curt, "Thanks, goodbye."

Attempt 5: Buttercup

Buttercup shrugged, hitting a sandbag roughly with bandaged knuckles. Her black hair flared around her head when she spun and kicked it with her heel. "Power. Think sixteen elephants charging at you full force with semi-trucks behind them pushing them in full throttle. The elephants and drivers hyper off energy drinks," she offered. "A LOT of energy drinks."

She turned to him. "That what you're looking for?"

Dexter shivered. "Um, not really, but thank you, anyway."

Attempt 6: Blossom

He caught Blossom reading in her room, scanning over a strategy book and flipping pages, as if trying to find a certain chapter. When asked, Blossom's reply was, "Something practical and convenient. Something Fuse won't expect to be a weapon. Like, for a girl, a hair clip or a necklace, and for a boy, a belt or shoe lace or something. The zipper of a jacket. Something small and simple, yet potent with concentrated power. That way, even if the bigger weapons are gone, the person can lure the Fusion into a trap and use their hidden weapon." Her eyes darted across a page. "Even a cell phone would do."

Dexter nodded. "Thank you."

Well, now he had the size of the muse. Something anyone could fit in a pocket.

Attempt 7: Juniper Lee

"I'm busy!" she yelled, slamming her fist into a punching bag. "I have to beat Buttercup's record of consecutive punches!"

Attempt 8: X-J9 (Jenny)

"I don't know." She grumbled to herself under her breath, and he couldn't hear her. "I'm a little busy."

Dexter winced. He had given several missions to keep her busy. He nodded in a jerky movement and turned on his heel.

At the end of the day, all he came up with was a very, very, VERY dangerous pink, blue, cat-shaped, button-like explosive that ended up being extremely popular among girl espionage experts. He quickly designed a belt with the same design and power.

And he came up with an adrenal energy drink for quick escapes called "Elephant". Buttercup took a quick liking to those.


	29. Bloodthirsty

Fuse stepped out of the shadows. His eyes, blood red and a vibrant green to form a puke-like color, stared down at him like a snake watching its prey. He weaved forward like a dragon flying above water, eyes never leaving Dexter. Dexter froze. What was that? That thing in his hands? A pink shoe?

Dee Dee's pink shoe.

Dexter shook.

Dee Dee.

Her shoe was in his hands.

She...

His hand leapt to his blaster and he brought it up with a deadly glare to point it directly at Fuse's forehead. One shot would be all it took. One shot would avenge his sister. His normally rational brain was currently blurring his vision with crimson red, making things almost impossible to see. But, at the same time, some type of primal instinct was awakened inside him, and he tossed the gun aside. Instead, he charged at Fuse with bare-hands, fists flying. Fuse dodged almost all of them, until one accidentally -a very unlucky shot for him- hit him in the jaw, and he was sent flying. His eyes rose to steadily gaze into Dexter's. Then a malicious smirk graced his lips and he chuckled. Maybe laughing at the sheer force of the insane boy in front of him, or maybe just insanity was catching up to him after the years of torturing children; stealing their parents, killing their friends, destroying their homes, it was bound to catch up to him sooner or later. But he didn't expect the scrawny boy to throw away the weapon that was probably his own hope of survival and come at him head on.

Dexter surged forward, slamming a vicious heel kick into Fuse's face, and then following up with a few punches. He heard cracks and snaps. Maybe Fuse's bones. That sound only urged him forward.

Dee Dee...

Dee Dee...!

Dee Dee!

His fists flew out faster, about every single one hitting their target: Fuse's face.

He stopped, panting, when a gush of fusion spilled onto him, and Dexter looked up to pick up his fallen glasses to see the wreckage he had just done. Fuse's impact on the surroundings left them in shattered remains of what they were before. Broken glass, a crashed throne, a crack on his glasses, grounds with craters in them, fusion matter splashed on the ground and walls, and finally, Fuse, who was lifeless and still on the ground a few steps in front of him. Dexter looked at his stained hands and ripped coat, and then at the single pink ballet slipper on the ground, looking alone and out of place in the all the destruction. He picked that up next, feeling the silk on his fingers and let his tears fall.

He wasn't sure if they were for Dee Dee or the fact that he had just ended the war between Earth and Fuse, but they fell and dropped on the ground.

And then the slipper disappeared.

And the scenery.

And Fuse.

And the tears on the ground.

Dexter looked up and blinked a few more tears out of his eyes. "Did I beat him?"

"Yes," a robotic voice replied. Dexter smiled.

"Good. Excellent simulation, Computress," Dexter complimented, heading for the exit of the simulation chamber.

When he exited, he found quite a few of the young KND operatives, Ben, Mandy, Dee Dee, Billy, Jenny, Juniper Lee, Computress, and a large crowd staring at him with amazed and almost scared looks on their faces. "Yes?" he chirped, and then laughed when they all cringed back a bit.


	30. Determination

Dexter hit the desk when the experiment didn't work. This HAD to work! It just HAD to!

He had a reason. A reason that was tearing his heart in two every second it wasn't fixed until it was a hollow cavity full of sifting dust.

He just lost his favorite operative, and he had done the deed himself.

Henry Lake was the best field operative -that was mostly human- that any commanding officer could hope for. He was like an older brother to Dexter, always teasing him, patting his head, and acting like that older boy in the family that Dee Dee just couldn't be, no matter how hard she tried. Whenever Dexter got lonely and everyone was busy, he would call in Henry, if he wasn't busy, and they would chat, throwing a baseball back and forth.

"You throw like a girl, Dexter!" Henry would chant.

"I learned from a girl," Dexter would shoot back.

They'd laugh and toss the ball again.

Henry was quite like Benjamin, Dexter realized, thinking back to their similarities. But Ben could never be the authority figure that Henry was.

When Dexter would start talking about science, Henry would make a great effort to understand, asking questions about what would affect what and such.

When Henry thought Dexter needed sleep, he sent him to bed without a second thought.

Same with food and freedom. He was, in fact, one of the only agents who would stand up to Mandy in Dexter's defense...that poor, brave soul.

Last week ended their times together. There would no longer be memories basked in warmth. There would only be the look of desperation in his eyes. The look wasn't from pain, or physical agony, as Dexter would have preferred, but the look was from inner agony. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he needed to. His soul was being ripped unwillingly from his body. He had held on for as long as he could; he fought death daily on the battlefield, so one more time in a hospital bed couldn't be so bad. Apparently, it was.

But he still didn't want to leave. He LIKED Earth, and fighting for it. In return, people liked him, and so did the planet. Henry also had a reputation for being extremely lucky, but Dexter knew it was hidden tactic.

That hidden tactic was given to Dexter in Henry's last breath.

"I want you to take the details in my bag and build it. It's full-proof. I've tested it myself. The only thing was I could never use it. It wasn't stable. If you build it, it will be." He smiled weakly, head falling back against the pillow. "Please, Dexter. It was the thing I was supposed to do for Mandy, but, well, you know...a saber tooth glob happened."

Dexter smirked. "Glob?"

"Yeah. Trust me."

They chuckled, but Henry's was cut off by a cough. Dexter's eyes softened and saddened.

"Now, what I want you to do...is not reincarnate me with Grim's powers, Dexter. I want to die in honor, not just keep coming back." He blinked. "Do you understand?"

Dexter nodded. "A final death."

"Yes. That's what I want. That would be the most noble."

Dexter blinked away tears and put a hand on the bed.

"Dexter, what I'm going to say next is probably going to be my last wish, so I'll try to get it all out." He took a deep breath, and then smiled. "I want to die with a smile on my face, and I want to know that this war will end. Even if you have to lie to me, I want you to tell me that this war WILL end. That everyone will be free, that people will see their parents and siblings again, that we'll be at home again with no fear of Fuse stripping us of our family and killing them off like lambs by a coyote's teeth. Please, can you tell me that?"

Dexter shook his head. "Once I tell you that, you'll give up!"

Henry took his hand in his. "I will. This is why I want YOU to tell me this."

Dexter gulped. "O-Okay."

So he did. Dexter watched the life slowly drain out of Henry's eyes and he told him what he wanted to hear and more. Henry murmured something and finally let out a deep breath, his eyes closed.

Dexter left the room after writing a "NO REVIVAL" note on the clipboard on the end of the bed.

He left the sixteen-year-old boy, who had three younger siblings around the age of four, five, and six, dead with a smile of his face. A smile of total content and peace.

And he left with dry eyes like a hero, details for a machine in his hands and fully set to work at the plans until his heart gave out...

He reset the calculations of the component and hit the go button. The laser whirred and started smoking. Dexter immediately stopped it and groaned out of frustration. "Why won't this work?" he shouted, flinging the paper. "You said it was full-proof, Henry! Full-proof! This is barely on the line of acceptance!"

"Try getting a bigger chamber for the element. What element is that? I've never seen anything like it," a voice whispered from behind him inquisitively. Dexter instantly recognized it.

"It's Element Lake," Dexter explained, embarrassed at being caught in the middle of a breakdown. "Henry Lake made it with Mandy's help."

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup stared at him with understanding looks in their wide eyes. "So, what does it do in that laser?" Buttercup asked immediately, always straight to the point.

Dexter grinned. "Apparently explodes."

About three seconds of confused looks later, the laser behind him exploded into fragments and Dexter cackled. "Henry, wherever you are, that was perfect timing." He shook his fist at the sky and smiled grimly. "So, you said to make the chamber bigger? Why would that help?"

Blossom shrugged, taking her sister's shoulders and turning them. "We'll leave you like this. We-"

"Don't-" Bubbles added.

"Like-" Buttercup put in.

"Being-"

"Contained," the three sisters finished with a breath-taking smile, warm radiance in their eyes.

And Dexter understood. The chemical didn't want to be contained, just like the rest of the KND, the heroes, the killed in action, and the missing. Like Earth. All of them were free, and couldn't be contained by anything in their way. The chemical was made to test his devotion. This only drove him further to make it work and he started to make plans on the laser.

When an operative scurried towards Dexter's lab at the sound of an explosion, Dexter was already running out of the lab, coat and hair singed, feet bare and gloves burned. He banked around a wall and dashed towards Mandy's office. "Mandy, Mandy! I finished it!" he shouted, slamming the door against the wall as he opened it. He held up a finished product, a steaming sword. It was glowing orange and white, but that was just Element Lake. Dexter had tested it.

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Finally."

Dexter put the sword on her desk and smiled triumphantly in her face. "I don't care what you say. I finished it, and I'm proud of myself." He put his hands on his hips. "So retort all you want, but it won't affect my mood." He turned and strode out of the room, white and now black coat swishing behind him. Mandy shook her head, picking the sword up delicately.

"Ms. Warthog," she ordered into the intercom, "please send a message to Dexter that I want it pink."


	31. Cackle

Dee Dee laughed. It was a nervous, chattering kind of laugh, the kind one would emit when they were faced with an awkward and dangerous situation.

Dexter stood in front of her, flame from a torch having burned his shirt and lab coat, and the smell of burnt hair drifted in the air. He grinned, the smile reaching his eyes and making his loose goggles fall off his eyes. "Fire is fun," he stated, lighting the flame on the torch and cackling. Dee Dee couldn't suppress a nervous laugh.

"Dex, I'm going to take the torch now."


	32. A Battle of Wits

"You, my good sir, are a pompous stick in the mud."

"You, child, are an impudent weakling."

Dexter smirked. "Moronic rabbit."

"Puny human."

Mr. Herriman and Dexter stared at each other with steely glares from sides, fists trembling and paws crossed. The two were engaged in a serious affair. Who would get Frankie's services for the weekend?

Dexter needed someone to clean the lab; normally Computress would do it, but she was undergoing updates on her system. Mr. Herriman needed Frankie to keep the Imaginary Friends in line, especially those that were being imagined these days. There were more Extreme-a-sauruses than ever because of nightmares. It was a horrible sight to look out onto. Foster's had been such a nice, kind place before the war started. They had even started to welcome the Fusion monsters into the home when Bloo and Mac realized what they were and did the smart thing that everyone seemed to do: run.

Both needed the red-head for something.

The red-head herself was currently sitting on a chair behind Mr. Herriman, ignoring them pointedly. Every time an insult was passed, a susurrus would go over the crowd like a tide, and she would sigh and roll her eyes. Needless to say, her eyes were getting tired from circling so much.

The crowd was slowly getting larger as more and more people realized that the two were fighting verbally and tried to see the two opponents more clearly. Frankie was filing her nails when everyone gasped and whispered among themselves. She looked up.

There was a red mark across Dexter's face, which was currently touching his cheek and glaring vehemently at Mr. Herriman, who was holding a glove.

Mr. Herriman had slapped the boy genius. Frankie stood up and rushed over, holding his shoulders and rubbing his back comfortingly, but he brushed her off. His eyes were flashing dangerously, and he slapped Frankie's hand away when she tried to touch him again.

"Rabbit, I assure you, that if you ever consider doing that again, it will not go without consequences. What you just did was like hitting your creator, Madame Foster." Dexter could only smirk. "I see that, unless you want Mandy to know that you just hit me for calling you an insult, you have no choice but to give me Miss Francis' services. How would our beloved leader react, do you think if she found out, that you hit me over something as simple as a verbal fight? I hadn't even sworn, or said anything as crude or violent as your action. The sophisticated leader of Foster's hitting a child, one of the people that his 'aim is to please with the help of Imaginary Friends'?"

Mr. Herriman recoiled. "I-Uh-Um-"

"Exactly, rabbit. She'd make sure that would be the only thing you'd ever say, spluttering and stammering your life away. Now, either you give me Miss Francis' services, or Mandy finds out. Which would you prefer?" Dexter's lips were graced with a sadistic, evil smile, and his eyes were narrowed. "I know which I'd choose."

A scared silence settled over the crowd, until Mr. Herriman reached up and adjusted his monacle with a gloved paw. "You may have Miss Francis."

Dexter grunted. "Thank you."

He turned and stalked off, lab coat swishing behind him. Without a second glance, he left the room. No one moved until Dexter peered around the door again and called out to Frankie, who obediently followed.

"That boy is one of the most frightening things I've ever encountered," Mr. Herriman mumbled.


	33. Oblivious

Bubbles found it extremely cute. Dexter was cuddled in a blanket in his bed, eyes closed and breathing quietly. In one of his hands was a book about war strategies and in the other were his glasses. Buttercup was standing next to his bed, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. Her face was impassive. Blossom was reading at his bedside, a similar book to Dexter's. The raven-haired sister lurched off the wall and punched Bubbles' shoulder lightly. "It's your turn. You watch over him," she grumbled. Bubbles rubbed her arm and nodded. She resumed Buttercup's position, and it was only sooner or later before she was sitting at his bedside, watching the calm serenity play out on his features.

"Bubbles, I don't think he appreciates being watched like a hawk," Blossom mumbled, turning a page. Bubbles flushed and nodded, backing away.

"Don't you think he looks happy, though? Sleeping?" she wondered to her red-head sister.

"Of course he does. This is his only escape. I don't think you really see what he sees exactly every day. Only the leaders of this army can fully feel the impact of the war, and it usually causes depression and madness. Mature as he is, Dexter is no superhuman like we are, and he's only eleven. This is probably driving him to his limits, and then some." Blossom shot a pitying look at Dexter and smiled ruefully. "If it was up to me and probably half this army, Dexter wouldn't be here. But he is the hope for this planet. So he stays and fights."

Bubbles found she was fighting back tears. "I feel so bad for him."

"We all do, Bubbles. He just doesn't realize we all want to help him," Blossom cooed, touching her perky blonde sister's arm. Bubbles reached over and stroked the strands of curly read hair, once like coils now limper and wavier, out of his eyes.

"Blossom, do you love him?"

Blossom was silent, eyes busily searching her mind for her answer. Finally, with a soft sigh, she smiled at her sister and nodded. "So do I," Bubbles whispered. "Buttercup does, too, I think. Everyone does."

"I wonder if he realizes that."


	34. Surprises

Dexter grinned as he entered the lunch room. He saw people bustling around with their trays and milk cartons, some with sodas, and the smells of the latest concoction the KND had come up with drifting through the air like silk curtains shifting in the wind, winding around him. He headed for the lunch line, and, once he had gotten his serving of vegetables, corn dogs, and a milk carton, he turned and looked for Dee Dee's table. He usually sat with her, Benjamin, Nigel, and whoever happened to be in the room.

When he spotted his sister, he realized that she and Ben were having a serious conversation involving smirks and devious glances. He immediately registered that they were flirting and averted his eyes.

Next he saw Nigel sitting with a troop of operatives. The troop was laughing at a joke Nigel had made. Dexter couldn't help but think that if he sat down with them, he would feel out of place and interrupt awkwardly.

Kevin and Gwen were also flirting on the other side of the room. That was out of the question.

Juniper Lee was sitting with her brother, dog, Courage, and Buttercup.

Speaking of the Powerpuff Girls, Bubbles and Blossom were nowhere to be found. Dexter scanned over the group of soldiers in the room and furrowed his brow.

A chipper smile was being shared with X-J9 and some teenage girls. Dexter just KNEW he didn't belong there, among the perfume and skirts.

Seeking the opposite, Hoagie and his team were making fart jokes and corny puns in the back table, tinkering with little objects.

Dexter groaned. There was nowhere he could sit. Everyone had their little group of friends or was busy; he'd have to sit alone again.

Only someone clearing their throat snapped him out of his melancholy revelation. He turned his head slowly and saw Mandy standing next to him. They were about the same height and were eye level. Mandy was peering at him out of the corner of her eye. "Shall we sit? I have something I need to discuss with you."

Dexter was startled about her sudden proposition but agreed with a numb nod of the head. He trailed behind Mandy as she led him to a table in the back of the room, very aware of the glances and muttering going around them. Apparently Mandy did as well, because as a boy leaned over to whisper something to his friend and both started snickering, she turned him around and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. "Mind telling me what you just said to your little buddy?" she hissed.

"N-No, ma'am," the boy spluttered.

Mandy grunted and dropped him hard, his butt plopping back down on the seat. The boy was red in the face and wide eyed when he turned back to his friend, who was snorting at him.

When they reached their table, Mandy set her tray down on one side of the table and Dexter the other. "So, mind telling me what you were doing over there, groaning to yourself and looking like an idiot standing in the middle of the lunch room?"

"I was debating where to sit," Dexter stated.

"Really? Where did you decide before I came along?" Mandy asked, biting into her apple. Dexter couldn't help that her teeth resembled fangs.

"I was still debating," Dexter lied, closing his eyes and sipping his milk.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry I interrupted your thoughts," Mandy bit back sarcastically. She put the apple back on her tray and Dexter examined just how her teeth entered the apple, with two large indents near the top where her pointy canines went in first.

"They weren't important," Dexter dismissed. "You know, Mandy, I don't know why you're always so bitter. Have you ever spoken to anyone normally without any sarcasm, anger, or command?"

Mandy glared at him. "Yes, I have. I've also smiled a perfectly nice smile for a beauty pageant and worn a really frilly dress while in a fake hot air balloon singing 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'."

Dexter couldn't help but laugh. It was obscene, the picture she had just described. "What?" he cried, laughing aloud. He put a hand over his mouth to muffle it and bit back tears of laughter. "Mandy, that's-so-WHAT?"

He missed the sweet smirk that Mandy had painted on her mouth as he was laughing. The truth was she had never heard someone laugh like Dexter, so cheerfully and sweetly. It was like a secret melody only she had heard. There was something about it that almost mesmerized her. She kept the smirk up until he opened his eyes again, when she replaced it with a vehement scowl.

"Shut up, idiot. I wasn't kidding," she spat. Dexter blinked and resumed laughing, but bit his bottom lip and tried to keep it back.

"You're so funny, Mandy. You always seem to surprise me," he giggled, wiping his eyes under his glasses. He took another sip of his milk and set it down. Calming himself, he couldn't get the image of Mandy in a frilly dress singing and smiling in a hot air balloon, so a smile remained upon his lips.

It was a split-second, but Dexter could almost swear that there was genuine…what was the word? Sincerity? Yes, genuine sincerity in her eyes. But it was gone as fast as he saw it, and Dexter could only infer that he had been seeing things.

Mandy, in the mean time, had finished her lunch while he was laughing and stood up. "I'm leaving," she announced. Doing exactly what she said, she stalked off, dumping her entire tray in the trash before exiting.

"She can always surprise me," he muttered softly, resting his temple on his palm and watching her back leave.


	35. Acting Your Age

There was something about his plead that Dexter could sympathize with for a second. He understood just how aggressive Buttercup could be, and he empathized with his shape-shifting friend. "Go over this again, Benjamin."

Ben groaned. "Buttercup walked in my room, said that I'm going out with Bubbles and that I'd better find someone to take Blossom out, too, and that if I didn't, she'd pound my face in, because they really needed to get out and off the battlefield," he relayed.

Dexter crossed his arms. "And you expect me to…?"

"Um…could you go out with Blossom?" Ben suggested. Dexter arched an eyebrow.

"What will I get out of it?" he immediately countered.

Ben bit his lip. "You could, uh, get to go out on your first date?"

"I'm eleven. That doesn't count for anything."

"Get to know Blossom better?"

Dexter considered this. Blossom was extremely intellectual, and always brought new ideas to the table at every meeting. She even stumped Nigel and Mandy at times. "Ask Blossom if she's okay going with me, and if she is, I'll go. I don't want to be there if she doesn't want me there," Dexter concluded. "Don't push her."

Ben jumped up and smiled. "Thanks, Dex! I owe you one!"

"Yes, you do."

Blossom ended up being fine with it, and the two left Bubbles and Ben alone to get to know each other better; the blonde and the brunette were hitting it off amazingly fast, and the redheads felt out of place. Dexter being only eleven and Blossom fifteen, the two looked odd walking together late at night in the streets basking the soft orange glow of lanterns and streetlights. Blossom was at least a head or two taller than Dexter, but the two were at ease.

"So, what do you think of the war so far?" Dexter asked.

"Let's not talk about that tonight," Blossom protested. "Let's be kids for once."

Dexter mulled this over and eventually nodded. "Sounds nice. We could try."

They were quiet before he spoke up again. "What do we talk about?"

Blossom pondered. "Well…there are always the genres we like. Hobbies. Stuff like that." Dexter kept a steady gaze on her. "I'll start. What do you like to do in your free time?"

"I like to play the piano, I suppose."

"Really? Classical?"

"Of course. I don't think piano should be used for much more. Classical suits it."

"I agree."

"What about you?"

"I like to play tag with my sisters, read fictional stories, stare at sunsets, and write in my diary," Blossom answered proudly. To Dexter's confused glance she elaborated, "I figure my writing is going to be one of the only documents about personal experiences from my sisters. Bubbles only thought about animals, her love life, and draws in hers, and Buttercup wouldn't be found dead touching a diary."

"Never have I heard a more logical use for a diary," Dexter admitted. "But you say 'Bubbles only thought'? Does that mean you've read her diary?"

Blossom flushed and turned away. "No," she defended. "I merely peeked in it to see what mission she was going on so I could know where she was supposed to be. My hands slipped…a lot."

Dexter smirked. "Really?"

"Yes. Every other page."

"Well, Ms. Blossom, it's getting late, and I suggest we get back to the base," Dexter changed the subject. Blossom exhaled gratefully and the two hurried off.

Buttercup asked Blossom if she had a nice time later that evening.

"It was the first time in a long time I blushed," Blossom stated plainly. Buttercup's eyebrows furrowed and she sat down, wondering what Dexter could have done.


	36. Halloween

Traditions were still traditions on Earth, even when in the middle of a war. Of course, when October 31 came around, it just seemed natural that people ran around in masks and costumes only somewhat out of the ordinary than what they normally wore. Everyone but a certain boy genius, sitting behind his desk and preparing something he had declared "a surprise for anyone who wanted to be scared".

He was working on a haunted house.

His costume consisted of a bloody lab coat, a pair of cracked goggles over his normal glasses, and muddy boots. There was a fake machete tucked into his back pocket of his black pants, which was also stained with blood and dirt. The ensemble fit him well. He just had to remember to keep his eyes very, very wide to show the extreme whites of his eyes. There was a smudge of blood on his cheek, which he smirked at every time he looked in the mirror. It struck him as funny. People always said he was insane, mad, so why not act it?

His entire haunted house was being constructed by Dexbots, and even a few of them with emotion chips installed decided a few of the things Dexter wanted to include was a bit too much for them to handle, and passed it on to another robot without emotions.

Dexter supervised, Mandy at his side. "So, Mandy, what do you think of it so far?" He narrowed his eyes at a collapsing wall but shrugged it off. He'd just add a swamp next to the ruins. Add to the effect, eh?

Mandy was examining the operation through cold eyes. "Try more hands on experiences. Accidentally separate them, make them feel like their alone, physiological stuff. It'd be mentally unsettling."

Dexter took this into consideration. "Mandy, I now put you in charge of the operation of my haunted house. Make it as scary, horrifying, and 'mentally unsettling' as you can."

An evil look crossed Mandy's face in a flash. "Excellent."

Dexter shivered and headed back to his office, getting the last details down.

Almost all the operatives at that base and several others from farther away bases were coming to see the house. A few of the weaker were turned away from it by the sound of the hysterical screaming coming from the lab, but it also brought more and more people to the challenge.

The first were almost too scared to come in when the first ten that went in came out shivering and pale, eyes wide and frightened like wild animals, but whispering something along the lines of going again like a chant.


	37. Friends

No one quite understood the relationship between Dexter and Mandark. It was clear they weren't lovers, but it was also clear that they weren't enemies. Though they bickered, quarreled, and fought, they never seemed truly intent on bloodshed as they had before the war began. Mandark would shoot a remark, Dexter would insult just as quickly, and then it was impromptu.

Sometimes there would still be tension, sometimes just a pause, and sometimes they would resume whatever they were doing beforehand. Mandark still tried to tease Dexter, but both seemed to think of it like a challenge now. Whenever Mandark succeeded in irritating Dexter, the two would shrug and walk away, Mandark sometimes smiling.

The boys lost their interest in this after a while, and eventually, the two became good friends.

When Dexter would design a weapon, Mandark would help. Dexlabs and Mandark Industries merged and became better than ever. Just to mess with everyone, they would tease those around them, Dee Dee included.

Once Dee Dee walked in on them (Dexter just so happened to be leaning over the table a bit, ahem, suggestively, towards Mandark) and squealed, blushing like mad, before dashing out as fast as her long, gangly limbs would take her. Then she heard cackling from inside the lab, Dexter's particularly strong, and a good cheer to Dexter before quiet settled over them. "I swear those two!"

Dee Dee's threatening tone drifted off. It was then she realized that Dexter and Mandark were becoming best friends. This would be Dexter's second. Now, Dee Dee was dating Ben, and she cared about him, but at that moment, she felt pure affection and adoration towards the "evil genius" that had managed to get through the tough exterior her brother put up to protect him. She smiled at the closed door and hurried off.

The two had work to do, and, for once in her life, she thought it was important that she didn't interrupt her little brother while he was working.


	38. For Her Team

Numbah 5 made sure to secure her hat and sweater before setting out onto the battlefield. Her gumball shooter fired rapidly, and her aim was never off. As second in command, she had to be the best for her leader. Numbah 1 never missed and he would be out on the field at her side if he wasn't in a meeting, which was why he asked her to take his place. She pulled the hat over her eyes and shielded herself from an explosion to her left. Numbah 1 was counting on her. She wouldn't let him, or her team, down.

Ever.


	39. Nightmares

When Dexter dreamed, they were realistic and normal. He could only wonder why this particular dream was as unusual as it was as he unwillingly drifted through it. Pink fluff surrounded him, historical figures swimming through it. Everyone seemed extremely happy. The world was vibrant and no fusion toxic patches were anywhere. It was just a utopia, with cotton candy trees. Cotton. Candy. Trees. He was a genius! He didn't dream of such things. He dreamed of mechanical plans and such, not of something that looked like it came out of Dee Dee's brain.

Wait.

Where was Dee Dee? She wasn't in the dream. People in the dream smiled at him without expression, their faces just THERE, not distinguishable. Dexter started to run through the dream faster than he thought possible, looking for someone that he could recognize, not just see.

"Dexter!" Dee Dee cried. She was dangling off a cliff by one hand. The rocks were crumbling all around her.

"Dexter!" Ben called out then. He was surrounded by Fusion monsters.

"Get over here, boy idiot!" Mandy angrily shouted. She was being dragged unwillingly towards a giant cloud of darkness Dexter could tell was no good.

"Dexter!"

"Help!"

"I need you!"

"Save me!"

It suddenly seemed like everyone was there. Everyone he cared about, all in certain death situations. Only he could save them?

Spiraling in place, world spinning, he tried to choose who to save. There was no way he could just choose! What kind of dream was this?

He cupped his hands over his ears in an attempt to shut out the pleas for help and fell to the ground, tired and suddenly weak. "No. No!" With every word, his voice grew. "Stop it! I can't choose! Go AWAY!"

Silence fell around him. He knew they were all gone. He had failed them. Tears fell freely from his eyes, and his chest heaved with sobs. His own crying echoed around him.

Something shaking him woke him from his terrifying dream. Dee Dee stood over him, moving his shoulder. "Dexter, are you okay? You were crying." Her voice was warm and comforting.

Dexter pulled her in for a tight hug and whispered, "Yes, I'm okay now."


	40. Awkward

An awkward silence settled over the lunch room. Then everyone heard a snort from one boy, then a giggle from another, and then two hysterical laughs. Dexter and Mandark, who had been playing chess, had been too caught up in taunting each other and probably the most intense game of chess in all of history, had gotten little too loud while insulting each other, and the certain comment of "not getting anything more than a kiss tonight" had echoed around the lunch room. It seemed everyone froze. Not just stopped and stared, but iced over and stared at them in shock.

Seeing as how there was no way this could be explained, Dexter stood up, gazed right back, and announced, "I am not gay." Then, with a glance down, he added, "Though he might be."

"Hey!" Mandark protested, smacking his leg. Dexter smirked and sat back down. "We were talking about candy! I swear! Chocolate Hershey's kisses! Dexter had some and I wanted some!" Mandark tried to cover.

"Don't-you-allllllways," Dexter sang, not improving the situation. He took a sip of his milk innocently while Mandark sent a deathly glare in his direction. While Mandark flushed at the sudden curious (and some disgusted) looks and remained flustered, Dexter bit back a giggle and patted his shoulder before standing and making a swift exit.


	41. Freak Night

Here we are again. I guess I lied about this whole thing being complete. Please enjoy the drabble. This idea sprouted from a seed planted in my brain from the song "Take It Off" by Ke$ha, and grew into a beautiful, unbeta-ed disaster. Delicious, this is. Speak like Yoda, I do.

I need to stop talking now, so you can get to reading. Unless you just completely skipped this and are reading right now. In which this is all for nothing. For those of you who take the time to read these, thank you. It means a lot to me.

The disclaimer thing in the beginning still stands!

* * *

Freak Night.

Bubbles wasn't sure what to make of it at first.

It wasn't called "Freak Night" by the creator –who had remained anonymous, and had stated they would reveal themselves on that night, on the dance floor. But Freak Night was what it was called by all those that had read the flyers sent out to them.

The flyers were delivered to all super-powered or special soldiers. They had been running around doing all tasks, from cleaning to first aid to destroying the green goopy monsters Bubbles hated so much. If there was one thing Bubbles liked doing, it was screaming so loud the things exploded.

But Freak Night was a break? Could they risk that?

Sure, why not? After all, if someone organized a giant party, it had to be a big-wig, and she wasn't going to let this pass up. They knew what they were doing, and she had wanted to go out dancing for weeks now. Freak Night seemed like the perfect excuse to do so.

When the night reared its vibrant head, everyone headed down to the entire level reserved for this. The elevator buzzed with excited energy, radiating from everyone in the tiny space. Anticipation built like a volcano in Bubbles stomach, just waiting for the cue to burst. Her sisters were on either side of her, both in the proper dancing attire; Blossom had thrown on a pair of tight pink pants and a red tank top, while Buttercup went for the punk look and dressed in neon green and black. Both would stand out on the dance floor. Bubbles looked down at her own dress and wondered if she had dressed correctly, but brushed it off. The dress was cute. She was cute. That was all that mattered when it came to fashion and her.

The elevator _dinged. _The doors slid open slowly, too agonizingly slow for the sisters. Who promptly threw open the doors in their haste to jump onto the dance floor.

The bass vibrated the floor, and the lights were dimmed to the point to that the level was almost dark. Lights were flashing everywhere, and several smoke machines were going off, releasing clouds of smoke onto the tiled floor. Bubbles spotted HIM at corner of the crowd, dancing away his troubles. She was tempted to join him, but Buttercup and Blossom dragged her to the middle of the group and they started to dance.

Someone bumped into her, and she uttered a squeaky apology before crying out in surprise. "Dexter?" Bubbles screeched. Blossom whipped around to look at him at the speed only a superhuman could achieve, but Buttercup was lost in her own world, singing along to the song with someone Bubbles didn't recognize in the lighting.

Dexter grinned at her deviously. "Enjoying the party, girls?"

A raven-haired boy snaked his way out of the crowd and whispered something in Dexter's ear. Dexter snickered, and the boy swayed away.

"Did you organize this?" Blossom shouted, determined to be heard over the blaring music.

Dexter shook his head. "The young man you just saw did. He's about as maniacal as I am, according to Benjamin."

Bubbles peered at the retreating raven-haired boy, but his features hid themselves from her gaze with so many people in the way. She pouted. "Who is he?"

"Susan Astronomonov." Dexter laughed again, shaking his head. "Evil genius."

The girls were silent. Susan? Wasn't that a guy walking away? Wasn't Susan a girl's name?

"Sorry," Dexter corrected quickly, "Mandark."

Their eyes widened. Mandark. Geeky, short-short wearing Mandark. Over-dressed Mandark. Horn-rimmed glasses, suspenders, tie and white shirt, polished dress shoes, perfected evil laugh _Mandark_?

"Anyway, welcome to Freak Night," Dexter yelled, as the music was getting louder. "I'm off to find that genius and get him to dance, because he absolutely refuses to, and I bet him I could make him."

The girls were stunned, still, with many questions unanswered. But Dexter was weaving his way through the crowd, and they were forced to sway to the beat of the pop song. "Buttercup is never going to believe this," Blossom sang. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Bubbles responded. All hope of conversation was abandoned when Bubbles was dragged off by Benjamin Tennyson, the two giggling and twirling on the dance floor, lost in the sea of bliss.

Buttercup looked up from her dancing partner for a moment to survey the surroundings. Everything was so _alive_, and she loved it.

However…

Who was that? Further away, more towards the back of the crowded room?

She narrowed her eyes and willed herself to see them. She was extremely grateful she had super sight, and easily saw the two.

Two boys.

They had greatly differing heights, but that didn't stop the short one from dragging the taller one into the center of the gyrating group and getting him to dance. The taller one had dark hair shielding his face –he was looking down at the shorter boy, and had to let his head fall, because, even by Buttercup's standards, he was TALL- and the shorter one had more flaming hair. The two danced together, laughing the entire time.

"Buttercup, you are NEVER going to believe who's here!" one of her sisters shouted in her ear.


	42. Partners

Plot bunnieeeees.

* * *

"Numbah 3, to the right!"

"Numbah 4, take her left!"

"Numbah 2, how are we on air support?"

"All clear, Numbah 1!"

"Numbah 5!"

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

"_Bzzzt._ Your _bzzzt-_eft."

"What?"

"Left, sir."

"Wha-Oh! There you are!"

"I've been here the whole time, Numbah 1."

"Good. I'll need you to cover me."

"Always."


	43. Music

I was listening to Jamie Cullum's "If I Ruled the World" while I was writing this, so if you want the full effect, listen to that while reading this. I'm giving you that forewarning here.

Anyway, this is probably not going to be the last drabble in this series, because I'm pretty sure I said that number fourty-two would be the last one, and it wasn't.

So we're just going to see how far this goes.

* * *

If Dexter was nothing else, he was musical. His fingers could dance across a piano like he part of it and knew just what keys to press to make it sing like an angelic chorus. The spell that was wound across the audience of the auditorium was like a drug; people couldn't stop listening, they were enraptured. The only ones that could take their eyes off of the redhead at the piano were the people dancing elegantly across the polished floor.

Dee Dee McPhearson was one of them, but, instead of her normal ballet, she was gliding in Benjamin Tennyson's arms. They moved together like clockwork. It was the perfect complement to Dexter's music as they swirled and dipped and nearly floated across the dance floor. In her pink gown, Dee Dee was a princess, and Ben, in his sleek black tux, was her knight in shining armor. Everyone saw the obvious love in their eyes.

Mandy sipped on sparkling juice as the two danced. She stood on the sidelines and watched over the concert, which was unfolding perfectly. She knew it would. She could pull anything off. And she was proud of this evening.

The music spun to an intimate climax, making several tears fall from several eyes. It dwindled down, and the dancers slowed as well. It ended with a perfectly timed note and dip. Dee Dee and Ben bowed to each other and then hugged, earning several "Aww"s from the crowd watching.

Dexter stood from the piano stool and bowed the crowd. He earned a thunderous round of applause.

"Let it be known that, on this day, Dexter McPhearson moved the hearts of many and all," Mandark murmured next to Mandy, leaning against a pillar of the ballroom. He grinned at her. "And that he made the world peaceful again, if only for a few minutes."

Mandy nodded and turned to Dexter, who was beaming at the crowd.

"Let it be known…" she continued, "…that there was no other place I would rather be tonight, if only for a few minutes."

Dee Dee laughed in Ben's arms.

Dexter smiled graciously at the crowd.

And no war existed outside the ballroom that night.

* * *

Disclaimer disclaimer yes yes I'm sure you know the drill.


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